14.11.14

Worth The Hype? The LORAC Pro Palette

Say hello to my much loved LORAC Pro Palette, the most versatile pre-made palette I own. The palette has 16 shadows, half matte and half shimmer and has recently become one of my most used eyeshadow palettes. It’s not like any other palette I own and I feel a little guilty having neglected my MAC eyeshadow palettes recently; two of my most treasured items in my makeup collection. But, the colour selection, pigmentation and blendability have made this palette an absolute dream to use on a daily basis.

The palette is packaged in slim cardboard with a rubbery NARS like texture and is much smaller than the Urban Decay Naked palettes. Talking of which, I would defiantly consider this palette over the Urban Decay Naked 1 Palette, as the LORAC palette has much more variety (mix of shimmer and matte), cool and warm shades and rather than just being your standard neutral palette with a mix of beiges, LORAC has thrown in a couple of bolder shades too! What’s not to love?

The shadows overall have good pigmentation, although a couple of the matte shades do need a little more work (‘White' & ‘Cream'). I have read a few reviews that mention how the shadows are chalky, but I disagree, the shadows are almost a creamy powdery texture and I actually don’t get any fall out from any of the shades, other than ‘Champagne’ which is a little gritty. You actually get more fallout onto the palette itself, so avoid rubbing your brush into the shade, pat your brush instead, then tap away any excess. The shadows are extremely easy to blend and the mattes and shimmers work together like a dream. And in terms of longevity, I don’t experience any creasing, with or without a primer and they last on average 5-8hours.

Now, I want to address that before I owned this palette, for me it was all about shimmer. And upon first inspection, I presumed my favourite colour from the palette would be ‘Nude', however I have fallen in love with the matte eyeshadows and a couple of the bolder shades in this palette. Previously I have never taken much interest in matte eyeshadows, but this palette has converted me! I love ‘Taupe' in particular, especially when worn in the crease, with 'Lt Pink' or ‘Cream' on the lid (you can see me wearing this here). In terms of the shimmery shades, ‘Pewter’ a beautiful taupe shade and ‘Garnet’ a rustic red orange, pack a punch or two and look beautiful when worn all over the lid, with a little of my trusty ’Taupe’ in the crease. You can also use the matte brown shades for your eyebrows and ‘White’,’Cream’ and ‘Lt Pink’ are great for highlighting especially when wet - I like to do this using a bit of MAC fix+.

Overall, the LORAC Pro Palette is versatile and is quite simply wonderful (and I may have recently got hold of the LORAC Mega Pro Palette!!). Now, I wouldn’t rave about a product you can’t necessarily get your hands on here in the UK, so I have done a little research for you all: This palette is available on the UK version of Amazon here, but retails with P&P at £62. However, when bought from the US version of Amazon here, it would cost you just £46.36 ($70.25) including P&P and import fees. It might take 8-14 business days to arrive but it is well worth the wait!